What planes does the Rus group fly on? Aerobatic team "Rus" - airfield

Every time I attend an aerobatic team performance, everything follows the same scenario: they
appear out of nowhere, quickly perform graceful aerobatics, other elements of their program and disappear without a trace, giving the audience a reason for admiration and taking up gigabytes of information on their flash drives. Where? Where? How? I have always been interested in these questions and what happens before and after the performance - what kind of work precedes the performance and what, in general, is going on there - behind the scenes...
The stars aligned so that my wish came true and I visited the Rus aerobatics team.
almost immediately after their performance at the 100 Years of the Air Force air show. So my great desire is to stick my nose in
behind the scenes came true :)

The aerobatic team "Rus" was created in 1987 on the basis of the Vyazemsky DOSAAF aviation center. For the past
Over time, the group's pilots conducted more than 300 demonstration performances in Russia and abroad.

1. Pilots perform on the Aero L-39 Albatross. Arriving at the airfield, the first thing I did was run to see how the planes were being prepared for flight:

2. The aircraft of the aerobatic team members are now being repainted in accordance with the new design style:

3. Drops of dew have not yet had time to evaporate from the wings:

4. A device that creates vacuum and pressure simultaneously to check instruments indicating altitude and speed:

5. Then the engines began to warm up, it became impossible to talk and I retreated. I went for a walk and
see what else is interesting in the area:

6. Aero L-29 “Dolphin” - predecessor of the “Albatross”:

7. Previous coloring of aerobatic team aircraft:

8. Refueling followed:

10. Let L-410 “Turbolet” was also prepared for departure:

11. Private aircraft are also based at the UAC:

12. Vyazemsky Aviation Training Center provides piloting training of varying degrees of complexity,
demonstration flights of the aerobatic team "Rus", group aerobatics, familiarization flights with
video filming, parachute jumping, cargo and passenger transportation, repair and maintenance work on aviation
technology.

One of the classrooms. I went in during a break between classes so as not to disturb anyone. It was a day off and
there they conducted classes for those who wanted to either simply make a demonstration flight or learn to pilot:

13.

14. I caught one of the Rus pilots - Nikolai Alekseev:

15. Climbed up and went out into the open area:

16. I put on my TV and looked at the military unit:

17. A device that measures the height of clouds. Consists of a transmitter and receiver:

18.

19. In the gazebo I found another pilot of the aerobatic team, Nikolai Zherebtsov:

20. After getting acquainted with the classrooms, I went back to the planes. When it is under maintenance,
the main controls are locked with keys like this, so that there is no possibility of accidentally pressing or
include something wrong. Before the flight, all checks are accordingly removed:

21.

22. L-410 is preparing for takeoff. Today it is piloted by a student:

23. Following him, one of the L-39s taxis onto the runway to conduct a training flight:

24.

25. Quietly leaked to the control center to observe the work of the dispatcher:

26.

27. After this, start spotting at the beginning of the runway and film the landing of the Albatross, standing almost at
the strip itself:

28. His landing caused positive vibrations in my body:)

29. After him, the L-410 passed over the runway, indicating the possibility of landing and flew on:

30. While waiting for the landing of the second L-39, flying with a tourist on board, I crossed the runway to shoot “in the sun”:

31. And here he is:

32. Continuous video recording is in progress :)

33.

34. An interesting plane that UAC employees saved from being sawed up by taking it out of MPEI. This is a modification of the MiG-21MT
(multi-fuel), of which only 15 copies were produced. Characterized by a huge “hump” on top,
which is an additional built-in tank of 900 liters. Could only be used for solo aerobatics,
because in certain flight modes this modification became unstable in flight. In general, this model
did not gain popularity due to deterioration in flight characteristics in exchange for an increased flight range:

35. It was my turn to fly. First there was instruction, which included familiarization with instruments and organs
control of the L-39 aircraft. After this, safety instructions, training in sitting in a chair and
ejection on a special stand. When practicing ejection, the chair is thrown up a meter
with almost the same overloads that would occur during a real ejection:

36. In conclusion - honey. inspection and permission to fly. They helped me put on a helmet and sit in a chair (this is also necessary
do the right thing) to the instructor’s place and literally tied to him.

37. While there is time, I inspect the controls:

38. And I turn my head around:

39. Two handles in the middle - ejection (they need to be squeezed and pulled towards you):

40. Taxiing has begun:

41. The pilot has rear view mirrors:

42. Taxiing is completed, permission to take off has been received:

43. A short sharp takeoff and the plane takes off into the air:

44. I don’t have time to turn my head around and use burst shooting :)

45. The industrial zone of Vyazma floats below:

46.

47. What can I say about the sensations - incredible, half-forgotten, some kind of childish delight from flying, that
the one that only happens at a very young age, when the world is still clearly divided into black and white and feelings with
emotions do not yet differ.

48.

49. Turn over the airfield:

50. The speed reached 500 km/h, the height was 2 km.

51. I don’t know what the overloads were, but during one of the climbs, I couldn’t keep the camera on
outstretched arms - she suddenly became very heavy and, together with the hands clinging to her, seemed magnetized
plopped on my chest :)

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58. And in general, it was interesting to watch the clouds quickly flying past you:

59.

60. Managed to take a photo of myself :)

61. The helmet absorbs all sounds so much that there was not even a hint of engine noise - only crackling
radio broadcast and sometimes - the voice of the pilot when he communicated with the dispatcher or addressed me.

62.

63.

64. Passage between the clouds:

65.

66. This is inside a cloud - zero visibility :)

67.

68.

69.

70. All good things must come to an end - landing approach:

71. Landing gear touching the ground, jogging and taxiing from the runway:

72. Technicians roll the plane into the parking lot:

73. The most valuable acquisition for me was not the flight, but the gifted badge...

74. And a booklet with autographs of "Rus" pilots:

I express my gratitude to Andrey Zhuikov for organizing the visit and to Nikolai Alekseev - he was the one who piloted
plane with my carcass on board :)

Official website of the aerobatic team.

I couldn’t get accreditation on time, so I had to take a transfer from Zolotaya Bochka. And I didn't regret it.
On August 30, the day of my visit, the premiere of an aerobatic figure took place, named after the official partner of MAKS-2013, a premium beer brand.

2. In the program of the aerobatic team "Rus" of the Vyazma Aviation Training Center DOSAAF, several figures were announced, which ultimately became a kind of warm-up before the culmination of the performance: Classic Barrel - axial rotation of the aircraft by 360 degrees, Fixed Barrel - a barrel with fixation in various phases of rotation, and finally, the Golden Barrel.

3. Solo on L - 39.

4. The aerobatic team "Rus" is the only aerobatic team in Russia that uses colored smoke in its performances. The color smoke generation system, which is equipped on all aircraft of the group, allows you to diversify each performance with unique patterns that make the performance more spectacular.

5. The pilots of the "Rus" squadron performed the figure without a single hesitation, but, unfortunately, due to low clouds, I was not able to take a decent shot.

6. The press secretary comments on the performance of the group "Rus".

7. After the premiere of the aerobatic maneuver, a press conference was held for journalists accredited at MAKS 2013 with the participation of the brand management and representatives of the Rus aerobatic team.

10. Journalists and pilots were offered to try premium Russian beer “Zolotaya Bochka” (non-alcoholic).

The pilots said that after Serdyukov’s reforms, the Rus aerobatic team survived only thanks to businessmen and enthusiasts.

12. L-39 "Albatross" of the "Rus" aerobatic team.

Story

Soon, at the end of 1987, Colonel Yuri Dmitrievich Bykov was appointed head of the Vyazemsky Aviation Training Center and leader of the aerobatic team. The aerobatic team program was improved and was also repeatedly demonstrated at various special events.

Composition of the group

Leading groups(at various times): in 1987 - Farid Akchurin, in 1987-1991 - Yu. D. Bykov, in 1991-2002 - Evgeny Burchanov.

The original composition of the group: Farid Akchurin (head of the aviation center), Valentin Selyavin, Sergei Borisovich Bondarenko, Sergei Petrovich Bondarenko, Nikolai Zhdanov, Kazimir Noreika, Alexander Pryadilshchikov, Nikolai Chekashkin, Vladimir Arkhipov, Nikolai Zolotarev, Viktor Aleinikov (from 1991 to 1994 inclusive - flight leader). Nikolai Pogrebnyak prepared a separate solo performance.

The composition of the group in 2000:

Composition of the group in 2007(flight director Evgeny Burchanov):

Currently The Rus squadron operates flights consisting of 6 aircraft:

The leader of the group is Anatoly Mikhailovich Marunko;
Tail wingman - Nikolai Mikhailovich Zherebtsov;
Left wingman - Mikhail Alekseevich Kolle;
Right wingman - Nikolai Egorovich Alekseev;
Solo aerobatics - Stanislav Lvovich Dremov;
Solo aerobatics - Igor Anatolyevich Dushechkin.

At the City Day in Saransk on June 12, 2011, “Rus” performed as part of 5 aircraft. 4 aircraft in the “branded” livery performed group aerobatics, 1 aircraft in camouflage and Russian Air Force insignia performed individual maneuvers. On June 25, 2011, at the “Wings of Parma” festival in the city of Perm, “Rus” performed as part of 5 aircraft, group aerobatics was performed both in a group of 5 aircraft and in a group of 4 aircraft. On June 29 and 30, 2013, in the same Perm, group aerobatics were performed on 4 and 5 aircraft on the “Wings of Parma”; solo aerobatics was performed by Stanislav Lvovich Dremov.

Performances

1987

August 18 - performance at the air parade in Tushino

1992

International Aerospace Exhibition "Mosaeroshow-92" (August 11-16, 1992)

1993

I International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-1993 (August 31 - September 5, 1993)

1995

II International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-1995 (August 22-27, 1995)

1997

1998

1999

2001

2003

2005

June 11 - performance at City Day in Kirov
August 16-21 - VII International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2005

2009

June 26 - performance at Youth Day in Naberezhnye Chelny
June 28 - performance at City Day in Arkhangelsk

2010

July 25 - performance at Navy Day in Severodvinsk
August 12 and 15 - performance at the InterAeroCom 2010 Air Show in St. Petersburg
September - performance at the Hydroaviation Show in Gelendzhik
October 2 - performance at the Aeromir-XXI air show (Ukrainian. Aviasvit-XXI listen)) in Gostomel, Ukraine

2011

June 12 - performance at City Day in Saransk
June 25 - performance at the Sokol airbase in Perm. The performance was held as part of the “White Nights” project
June 30 - performance at the V International Naval Show in St. Petersburg
August 16-21 - X International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2011
September 11 - performance at City Day in Nizhny Novgorod

2012

May 12-13 - performance in honor of the opening of the port-museum "Lennusadam" in Tallinn, Estonia
July 7 - performance at the rock festival NASHESHIE
August 10-12 - performance at the “Common Sky” air show dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force
September 15 - performance at Penza City Day
September 22 - performance in Veliky Novgorod at the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of Russian statehood
September 27-30 - performance at the 8th International Aviation and Space Salon "AVIASVIT-XXI" in Kyiv (urban settlement Gostomel, airfield "Kyiv-Antonov")
October 14 - performance at the military-historical festival “Moscow is behind us: 1941”

2013

June 20 - performance at graduation in Ulyanovsk (“Runway 2013”)
June 29-30 - performance at the Wings of Parma festival in Perm, at the Sokol airbase and the Froly airfield
July 4 - performance at the opening of the Naval Salon in St. Petersburg
July 28 - Navy Day, Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk
August 2 - performance at the Wargaming.net corporate party (in honor of the company’s 15th anniversary) above the Stalin Line (Republic of Belarus)
August 30-September 1 - XI International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

August 2 - performance in Ufa at the celebration of Airborne Forces Day.
August 4 - performance in Omsk at the Day of the City
August 5 - performance in Novosibirsk at the celebration of Aviation Day.
August 10 - performance in Kazan at the festival "I choose the sky"
August 25 - performance in Voronezh at the airport on an open day.

Aerobatics elements

The Rus aerobatics team has its own performance program, containing various elements of group and individual aerobatics. The overloads experienced by pilots range from −4 to +8. The minimum distance between aircraft during flight is one meter.

Group aerobatics

"Running the Gauntlet"- element of oncoming aerobatics. One plane passes through a formation of six planes.
"Fan"- a single aircraft performs a roll around five aircraft flying in a diamond formation. Initially it was carried out by only two aircraft - one makes a roll around the trajectory of the other.
"Mirror"- the passage of a pair of aircraft with the landing gear extended, the leader performs a half-roll and begins an inverted flight. When flying in front of the audience, the impression of a “mirror image” of the wingman’s aircraft is briefly created.
"Cross"- a group of planes is flying in a “cross” (Christian) formation. This figure is performed by a group of 6 or 9 aircraft. In a group of 6 aircraft, the aerobatic element is performed as follows: four aircraft are lined up in a row behind each other, and two more are lined up symmetrically on the sides at the level of the second aircraft in the row; in a group of 9 aircraft - five aircraft are lined up sequentially in a row, the remaining four are symmetrically paired on the sides of the second in the row.
Dissolution of "Fontan"- carried out by four aircraft.
Dissolution of "Tulip"- carried out by six aircraft.
"Heart"- Two planes (or two flights - six planes) draw a heart-shaped figure with a white train, a single “arrow” plane “pierces” it.
"Barrel of Four"- four aircraft perform a roll around their trajectory (in this case, the formation “flips” and then returns to its original positions).
"Steam barrel"- similar to the “Barrel of Four”, but it is performed by two aircraft.

Solo aerobatics

Flight to WWI- the plane flies over the runway with the landing gear extended, after which it retracts them and continues flight at an extremely low altitude, equal to one meter. The speed of the aircraft is 400 km/h.
"Bell"- see Bell.
"Rising Corkscrew Barrel"- barrel with a climb. For the first time on L-39 it was performed by the lead singer of the group “Rus” Valery Sobolev.
"Landing of a Drunken Pilot"- when landing, the aircraft begins to perform sharp maneuvers with gain and loss of altitude.

See also in the “Links” section - video clips of speeches.

is an air group that was created back in 1987. So much time has already passed, and “Rus” is invincible, despite the fact that Russian aviation is dying and airfields are ceasing to exist. Many people also predicted “death” for the aerobatic team, but to this day it exists, and is supported by the enthusiasm of the aviators.

History of the Rus aerobatic team

It all started back in 1987. A holiday dedicated to the seventieth anniversary of the October Revolution was planned, and the task was set to organize a performance at the Tushino airfield, showing the audience an unforgettable air show.

Nine of the best pilots - masters of solo flights - united into one group in order to take part in a group flight for the first time in their lives. And not just flying, but taking part in a show using various complex elements in the air, and there were only three months left to prepare for the holiday. But the enthusiasm was enormous, and the pilots began training. They had nothing: no diagrams, no manuals, it was just them and nine planes. And also a video recording of air performances of two foreign aerobatic teams. But all the difficulties were overcome and the show took place. This happened in June 1987. The success was enormous. This day is considered the birth of the aerobatic team, which was soon named “Rus”. Since then, Russian pilots have been training at the Vyazemsky Aviation Training Center, gaining invaluable experience from their mentors.

Today, the oldest aerobatic team “Rus” consists of a wonderful team of masters who, with their synchronized performances, amazed the whole world, performing at international shows. This is a team that performs the most complex elements. And this is the only aerobatic team that performs complex aeronautical elements on L-39 Albatross aircraft. In their program “Rus” they use color accompaniment, which only enhances the audience’s emotions from what they see. Seven people in the aerobatic team “Rus” captivated the audience. Each team member is qualified as an instructor pilot, and each has more than three and a half thousand hours of flight time.

Aerobatic team Rus aircraft

By the way, the aerobatic team “Rus” is a group that can give you extreme and unique sensations, because here you have the opportunity to fly a fighter plane together with an instructor.

You can find out about upcoming performances and group news on the official website, because like many others, the Rus aerobatic team has an official website, and the aerobatic team also has its own VK page.

In order to be convinced of the professionalism of the Rus aerobatic team, just watch the video and you will understand that they are masters of their craft. With such pilots, Russian aviation will not be lost.

Aerobatic team Rus video

Aerobatic team" Rus"uses airplanes L-39 "Albatross". Reactive plane L-39 is a light attack aircraft, which is one of the best and most popular aircraft in its class. "Albatrosses" are used in the Russian Air Force as the main training aircraft, and in a number of countries near and far abroad as combat vehicles.

L-39 was developed by the Czechoslovak company Aerovodokhody within the framework of the Warsaw Pact program, aimed at creating a single training aircraft. Serial production of the main version of the L-39 began in 1973, and in the same year the aircraft entered military testing in the USSR. From 1974 to 1989, the USSR received a total of 2,094 L-39s.

In the Soviet Union, the L-39 became one of the most popular military aircraft. The car quickly took root and “Russified” - the Latin “L” in its type designation was immediately replaced by the Cyrillic “L”. And the aviators used their own name “Albatross” much less often than the slang nickname “elka”. The aircraft entered the majority of flight schools: Chernigov, Kachin and Kharkov, which specialized in training pilots for front-line fighter aviation; Armavir (air defense fighters); Yeyskoye and Borisoglebskoye (fighter-bombers); Barnaul (front-line bomber aviation); Tambov (long-range aviation); Krasnodar (trained pilots for Asian and African countries). "Albatrosses" were also operated by several Centers for combat training and retraining of flight personnel, a Separate training and testing regiment of the USSR Cosmonaut Training Center (Chkalovskaya airfield), and units of the Air Force Research Institute. A small number of Albatrosses were transferred to DOSAAF flying clubs and training centers. Outside the security forces, the “elks” were located at the LII MAP (Zhukovsky near Moscow). There, the L-39 was used not only as flying laboratories, but also as escort aircraft (for example, during flights of the Buran analogue of the VKS), as well as in the Test Pilot School.

"Albatrosses"are still in service with the air forces of Russia and other CIS countries, as well as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bulgaria, Germany, Iraq, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Libya, Romania, Syria and Thailand.

The aircraft allows you to perform simple, complex and aerobatic maneuvers, as well as cross-country flights using radio navigation aids in single and group flights.

Technical L-39 characteristics

Crew: 1 or 2 people
Length: 12.13 m
Wingspan: 9.46 m
Height: 4.77 m
Wing area: 18.18 m²
Empty weight: 3455 kg
Normal take-off weight: 4525 kg
Maximum take-off weight: 4700 kg
Fuel mass in internal tanks: 980 kg
Powerplant: 1 × AI-25TL turbofan engine
Thrust: 1 × 1800 kgf

Flight characteristics of the L-39

Top speed: 761 km/h
Stall speed: 160 km/h (flaps extended)
Practical range: 1650 km (without PTB)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m
Rate of climb: 21 m/s (1260 m/min)
Takeoff length: 580 m
Run length: 560 m
Armament